Apartheid

Apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa that was a part of national law from 1948 to 1994. The system forbade white people (the Afrikaners) and African people (the Bantus) from using the same bathrooms, apartments, houses, schools, and most other public spaces, and intermarriage was forbidden. In addition, Bantus were forced into segregated neighborhoods, including the infamous Soweto slum. In 1970, Bantu representation in politics was banned, and Bantus were also cut off from receiving adequate medical care; their healthcare was inferior to that of the whites. The African National Congress, South African Communist Party, Pan-Africanist Congress, and other militant groups resisted apartheid through armed struggle, and the government would eventually decide to hold multi-racial elections in 1994. Nelson Mandela was elected as the first black President of South Africa, and he ended the racist apartheid policies.